Green’s Dictionary of Slang

verneuk v.

(S.Afr.) to cheat, to swindle.

1871		W.G. Atherstone in Cape Monthly Mag. III July 46: How Hendrik enjoyed verneuking the Boer! [DSAE].
1899		‘S. Erasmus’ Prinsloo 4: Had I been able to cypher and read writing as the old teacher wishes, I should not have been verneuked by so many Rooineks [DSAE].
1902		J.H.M. Abbott Tommy Cornstalk 8: To be ‘slim,’ to ‘verneuk’ his neighbour, is, with the Boer, a by no means bad failing.
1913		C. Pettman Africanderisms.
1937		S. Cloete Turning Wheels 253: ‘Ach’, she sighed, ‘to think that Gert Kleinhouse, whose nose I used to wipe with a lappie, has verneuked me out of a lovely little pig’ [DSAE].
1966		J. Bennett Hawk Alone 191: Don’t let them verneuk you, Mr Vance. [...] These gooses are damn slim, man. You got to watch them.
1976		S. Cloete Canary Pie 99: The boys and spans of oxen were just a ruse to draw them off and verneuk them.
1988		S. Gordon Under the Harrow 87: An Afrikaans businessman seemed to think that he must be able to verneuk another person to be successful.

In derivatives

verneukery (n.)

cunning.

1902

J.H.M. Abbott Tommy Cornstalk 225: Their dashing actions, cool ferocity, quiet ‘slimness,’ and guileless ‘verneukery’ [...] rendered them famous.